


Brothers Forever

by JsPrincess



Series: Closer than Brothers [1]
Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Language, Male Friendship, No Sex, Other, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3807073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JsPrincess/pseuds/JsPrincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jax Teller and Opie Winston have been best friends for as long as they can remember. This story shows a part of that friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brothers Forever

They'd been best friends since they were in diapers. Jackson "Jax" Teller and Harry "Opie" Winston were inseparable as children, growing up down the street from each other, and as they grew into their teenage years they became even closer, if that was possible.

When Opie's old man would get so drunk that he would start beating on his wife, it was Jax's door Open knocked on. When Gemma and J.T. would get into it, it was Opie's window that Jax would climb through. Even when they were pissed at the world, Opie and Jax were brothers. 

It was no surprise to anyone when twelve year old Jax disappeared after his six year old brother Thomas' funeral, and was found later that evening, his face still stained with tear tracks, asleep in Opie's bed, the larger young man sitting sentinel in a bean bag chair beside the bed, with a motorcycle magazine. 

The boys knew something was wrong when Piney Winston stopped by the high school and picked the boys up, unannounced, on a Thursday afternoon in November. Piney rarely picked the boys up, and if he did, it was usually thirty minutes late, not two hours early. 

The beat up SAMCRO van bumped along the road, the boys in the back, shooting each other worried looks. Piney drove in silence, until they pulled into a spot at Saint Thomas Hospital. Opie's dad turned to face the boys and spoke in a gravely voice, "Jackson, your dad is inside, in pretty bad shape," Piney cleared his throat before he continued. J.T. had a collision with an eighteen wheeler and it doesn't look good." 

Jax didn't speak, he just slid to the back of the van, opened the doors and hopped out with Opie right behind him. Piney watched the boys go, unwilling to go back inside the hospital just yet. 

Jax and Opie reached the hospital doors and the same time and when Jax hesitated for a moment, Opie placed his big hand on Jax's shoulder.

"We'll get through this together brother," Opie reassured.

"Stay with me brother," Jax replied, his young voice held a tremble that no one but Opie would have recognized.

The boys entered the emergency department and headed for the information desk.

"My dad's here. John Teller," Jax told the tech at the desk. 

She tapped on her keyboard and pulled up J.T.'s record. "Your mother is back with your father, if you boys will go to the waiting room, I'll let your mother know you're here," the tech said, pointing the boys toward the waiting room. 

Jax ran his hand through his messy blond hair and shook his head. Opie clapped him on the back and they headed toward the waiting room. 

The majority of SAMCRO, old ladies included, were huddled in one corner of the waiting room. Chairs were in disarray, everyone was gathered in a circle. It was Bobby who saw Jax first, and stood up, the rest of the group following suit."Jax," he said.

Jax nodded in acknowledgment, but didn't speak. He and Opie continued to the group and dropped down into chairs on the edge of the circle and half listened to the chatter around them. 

Gemma came through the door and walked over to where everyone was waiting, her face set in a grim but stoney expression. "Jax you can go back and see him if you want. He's pretty badly banged up and has a lot of internal injuries. They're going to take him up for surgery soon."

"Ope's going with me," Jax said, not caring what his mother thought about it." 

Gemma turned and began to talk to Clay as Jax and Opie rose from their seats and headed for the door behind the information desk that Gemma had just come from. As they went through, the tech at the desk called out "Trauma Four."

Opie and Jax found Trauma Four quite easily and Jax paused before reaching for the handle to slide open the door.  
"You can do this brother," Opie quietly reassured. 

Ja nodded and stepped into the room. His heart skipped a beat when he saw his father lying motionless on the gurney, stark white sheets spattered with browning spots of blood. The once handsome John Teller's face was disfigured, his nose bent at a painful looking angle, patches of skin missing, and a large breathing tube down his throat.

Opie's strong hand found it's way to Jax's shoulder, startling the blonde out of the trance like state he'd fallen into upon seeing his father's current state. 

"He'll pull through this Jax. Just keep believing in him. Je'll get through it,"Opie tried to reassure his friend.

"He won't, Opie. Didn't you see the look on Gemma's face, and the way she curled herself around Clay Morrow? She knows that my dad isn't going to live, so she is sinking her claws into the next man in line for the club president's job."

Opie stood quietly for a moment, collecting his thoughts before he spoke. "All the more reason for you to have faith in your dad's will to live. J.T. is a good man, and he always believes in you, Jax." 

Jax looked up at Opie's supportive expression and his control broke. Tears began to slide down his cheeks and Opie did the only thing he could think of. He pulled his brother toward him, and held him while he let out all the emotion he had been holding in since Piney spoke those awful words in the van. Jax's shoulders shook silently as he cried for the impending loss of his father, and the roller coaster that was sure to come in his wake. 

As Jax predicted, four days later they were standing in the Charming Cemetery, Gemma on the arm of SAMCRO's new president, Clay Morrow, and Opi stood, solid as a stone at Jax's back. 

The preacher spoke of John Teller's love for his wife and children, his dedication to his friends, and his selfless service in the Vietnam war. Mourners sniffled around the gravesite, as Jax stood, his back stiff as a board, silent tears falling from his eyes. Gemma stood nearby, body stiff, but an emotion couldn't be found anywhere on her face. The fact that Piney Winston had tears in his eyes, as did many of the other SAMCRO members, but his own mother didn't, was not lost on Jax. 

At the end of the service, Gemma and Clay stood next to the casket, receiving the mourners, and it made Jax sick to watch them. He chose to grab Opie and head away from the cemetery.

The two boys walked in silence until Jax spoke. "I knew he'd be president the minute my dad's heart stopped and I knew she would be right there whoring up to him. I can't fucking believe her. It's like my dad's life never mattered to her." 

Opie walked in silence beside his best friend, knowing that a listening ear was what Jax needed, not advice. 

"I love Gemma, but God she is fucked up man," Jax continued. "Married to J.T. all these years, but she can't even shed a tear at his funeral? That's fucked up man." 

Opie nodded, continuing in silence as they headed toward the Winston house. Charming wasn't a big town, but the walk from the cemetery to Opie's house covered several hills, and the boys were both worn out when they dropped down onto the front steps. 

Jax leaned against the house, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Opie threw an arm across Jax and spoke, "We'll get you through this brother." 

Jax leaned into Opie's embrace and they sat on the steps in silence until Opie realized Jax had dozed off. Shaking his head, Opie slid his arm under Jax's knees and scooped us his smaller friend. 

Opie maneuvered the front door open and kicked it closed behind him, carrying Jax up the stairs and placing him on the bed. 

Piney came upstairs late that night to tell opie that Gemma said Jax should stay over, and found Jax asleep in Opie's bed, and Opie passed out in the recliner in the corner, an old motorcycle magazine dropped in the floor beside him.


End file.
